food 4 tots

Basic butter cake

butter cake, basic butter cake, cake

 

Butter cake is the first cake I learnt to bake during my high school years. It was also the easiest and fastest cake to bake that I know of at that time. I still remember that I would wait till my mother took her afternoon nap to do the baking as it was the best time to “invade” her kitchen. By the time she woke up, there would be no traces of mess I created and the cake was already inside the oven. . From what I can recall, none of the butter cakes I baked came close to my expectation. Somehow, somewhere, something would surely go wrong. Nevertheless, I still love baking this cake over and over again whenever I had the urge to do baking. Maybe it was the baking process that I enjoyed the most. Since I left home (for both studies and work), I had no opportunity to bake this butter cake anymore.

 

A couple of years ago, I came to know that my mother-in-law was a big fan for butter cake. I promised myself that I would bake one for her if I got an oven and the right baking utensils. Time passed and nothing was done. Promise still remains a promise. During her recent stay with us last month, I made good my promise and baked this cake for her. It may not be the best butter cake in town, but she loved it so much. Now I can happily strike off this long outstanding item from my to-bake list.

 

Butter cake, cake

 

This recipe was adapted from Agnes Chan’s cookbook  (蓝赛珍,轻轻松松学烘焙)which provides photos showing detailed step-by-step procedures in baking this cake. I find it very helpful as it makes my baking much more easier. However, in my first attempt, although the texture was soft, the cake turned out to be a little bit dry. As for its taste, it came out slightly plain as I used unsalted butter and omitted the salt during the process. As what I read from the internet, self-raising flour contained salt. So I suspected the shortage of salt could be the main cause of these two problems.

 

On my second attempt, I added a bit of salt and reduced the amount of flour used. I also paid extra attention to the mixing and baking process. This time the end product turned out to be very soft and moist. It also got the buttery smell, and yet did not give one a heavy feeling when eaten. However, it tasted slightly sweeter to my liking. What completely surprised me was the feedback I got from my friend whom I gave half of my loaf, as I did in my first attempt. She told me that both her daughters finished the cake in split seconds leaving only one slice for her to taste. Although the cake done in second attempt was sweeter, they found the taste as simply fantastic and suited their taste buds as well. Besides them, my family also enjoyed eating this cake. But I will not consider it as “The Ultimate” butter cake. (Am I setting the bar for my expectation far too high? ). It doesn’t matter anyway as it is still the “best” recipe I had tried and tested so far, and much better compared to the ones I had baked during my high school days.

 

Butter cake, cake

 

Well, I shall leave it to you to be the judge of this recipe. Meanwhile, I will continue to “fine tune” it to get closer to my expectation of “The Ultimate” butter cake. So, what’s your favourite butter cake recipe? Please share with me! I love to hear from you.
To all the mothers (including myself) and mother-to-be out there, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

 

Who had tried and tested my recipe?

Rasa Malaysia
Bits of Taste
Diary of Faithy, The Baker
Taste of Home
Kurious, Kitteh, Kooks!

 

>>>> Click on PAGE 2 BELOW for Basic Butter Cake recipe and step-by-step photos…………………..

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260 Comments

  1. Chloe says:

    Haha it turned out great! The taste and texture is absolutely delicious. Not sure why it sanked a little though, but that didn’t bother me at all coz my husband said it was the perfect butter cake. Thanks again for your recipe!!!

  2. PY says:

    Hi

    I tried your recipe but my cake did not rise much (it is less than 4cm thick). Also, mine took only 30 minutes and the skewer came out clean.Do you know what my cake did not rise much?

    Thanks

    • food-4tots says:

      PY: Did you use the same size of baking tin as mine? Is your cake fully cooked? When you cut it, is there any dampness/ wetness inside it?

      • PY says:

        Yes I used a 8″ square tin and baked at 180 degree, mid-tray. I do feel it was more moist than other recipe I tried although it also did not raised as much in previous attempts. Is this a sign that it is not fully cooked? If so, is it still edible?

        What you do suggest I try/change the next time?

  3. Aditi says:

    I came across this wonderful recipe through Rasa malaysia and I have tried with perfect results, I want to add walnuts to the batter…can you please suggest how do i go about it?

  4. […] to make basic butter cake  Source: food4totsPreparation time: 20 minsCooking time: 45 […]

  5. Tracy says:

    Hi, I just tried your receipe yesterday and the taste was very good! I only have ard 200g butter left and used cake flour; everything reduced abit here and there and took some dough to mix with cocoa powder and becomes marble cake. Everyone loves the taste – soft and light!

    Thank you!

  6. Sharon D. says:

    I tried this yesterday – too heavenly! This recipe is for keeps! 😀

  7. lena says:

    Is there any way we can substitute the 2 tsp double action baking powder?

    Thanks.

  8. Hui woon says:

    If I were to bake two butter cake, can I just double the ingredients? Thanks.

  9. jo says:

    hi, can I know what’s the ideal weight of the eggs for this recipe? ty

  10. jo says:

    hi
    may I know what’s the ideal weight of the eggs ? ty

  11. Ellis says:

    Can I use vanilla extract instead of essence?

  12. […] make this butter cake (recipe adapted from Food-4tots) – to munch on when doing the “ugh” sorta […]

  13. Chirag Dua says:

    How you are managing this blog, I got the blog when i was searching butter cake, Thanks for providing ingredients and method, easy way you give us..

  14. pinky says:

    I tried your recipe but substituted sour cream for the milk. It turned out really moist. I then tweaked it the next time I baked it by using rum and vanilla to make it into a rum cake.

    I love how the recipe is really just good enough for one pan specially during those times when you just want to bake for a small group. Other recipes call for 2-3 cups of flour which at times leave me with several pans of cake that take weeks to consume. So now, I want to try using your recipe for a chocolate cake version! Let’s see how it will come out 🙂

    Thank you very much!

  15. Karen says:

    I tried this recipe and everyone loved it.

  16. Vera says:

    Just made this and my family loves it. 🙂

  17. Beulah says:

    Hi, I’ve made this cake many times and it THE best!! Works out great everytime and we simply love it! Thanks for sharing this recipe.

  18. Ling says:

    I have just made one and it was fantastic! But a bit curious why mine eas not at equal level.

  19. Ceo38 says:

    Hi hi, I’ve baked your this butter cake recipe a few times and it’s heavenly. May I know if I can substitute the milk by using coconut milk instead? Am also thinking of adding a bit of pandan paste/essence instead of vanilla essence. Will that be ok? And can I use cake flour instead? Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thanks a lot

    • food-4tots says:

      Ceo38: Thanks for your wonderful feedback! Sorry, I haven’t tried all these substitutions. For pandan essesnce and cake flour, it sounds feasible to me. However, I’m not sure about coconut milk. 🙂

  20. Gmourra says:

    Tried this and Love it , Ive been looking for a recipe for my nieces wedding and this is the one I will use, wish me luck, first wedding cake . Thank you so much for sharing, everyone loved it, easy to bake , the only difference for me was the cook time which is obviously due to my oven, otherwise it was great.

  21. Jeya says:

    Hi, if I were to make a round cake can I use 8inch round tin or it should be 9inch?

    • food-4tots says:

      Jeya: Sure, you can use 8 inch. The baking time may be varied (longer) as it will yield thicker cake. If the cake turns brown too fast, cover with a piece of aluminium foil and continue baking until it’s cooked. 🙂

  22. RG says:

    Hi, food-4tots

    Good day to you

    I’m a beginner to learn how to bake:)

    This is my 1st time make the butter cake follow Rasa Malaysia. I’m confuse 2 sticks butter that mean 2 log of 225g butter?

    The temp 190c that mean I need to heat up the oven 1st?

    Sorry asking this basic quention 😉

    Thank you

    • food-4tots says:

      RG: I’m sorry that I haven’t tried RM’s recipe. If you like, you can take look at my butter cake recipe – https://food-4tots.com/2010/05/06/basic-butter-cake/2/. For baking, you need to preheat your oven (meaning to allow the heat to reach the desired temperature before baking) before putting your batter in. Please note that different ovens have different temperature setting. Hope it clears your doubt. 🙂

  23. MLV says:

    Hi Food-4tots,

    I only picked up the hobby at baking a few months ago. This was the first time that my cake turned out light, fluffy and delicious.My friends and family love this butter cake.

    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

  24. Kins says:

    Hei! I tried this recipe but in half. The result is great but my cake sunk a little. Any idea where I went wrong?

    • food-4tots says:

      Kins: Thanks for the feedback. There are many underlying factors that may affect end results. One possible reason may due to your oven temperature. Every oven has its own internal temperature. So you need to experiment it. Hope I have answered your query.

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